The Israel Corp Ltd Drops Nearly 100% After "Fat Finger" Error

Let's see, in the past few weeks we've had:

1) Goldman Sachs' algorithmic options trading software go haywire

2) The NASDAQ go completely down for 3+ hours due to a "data issue"

3) A major Israeli company momentarily drop by nearly 100% due to a "fat finger" typo

Earlier today, the Israel Corporation was on track to have a seemingly normal day. Shares of the company, which trade on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, opened the day at 160,000.00. The Israel Corporation is a large holding company that primarily deals in fertilizers and specialty chemicals.

Shares were puttering along until disaster struck - a single trade went off at 210.00 per share, temporarily reducing the value of the company by nearly 100%.

This single trade immediately brought the value of the entire TA-25 index down by 2.50%, causing trading to automatically shut down for a short period of time.

The trade was obviously a mistake, and it was soon cancelled.

According to reports, a trader wanted to sell shares in another company but accidently entered the symbol for the Israel Corp Ltd. The trade went off at 210.00 per share, and the trader very likely wanted to throw themselves through the nearest window once they realized their mistake. I'm sure that there is nothing quite like losing millions of dollars in a millisecond because of a typo.

Fortunately for the trader, Goldman Sachs wasn't on the other side of the trade (just joking, of course), and the trade was subsequently cancelled.

Filed under: General Market News